War of the Trojans (1962) (aka: The Last Glory of Troy/ The Avenger) starring Steve Reeves, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Carla Marlier, Mario Ferrari directed by Giorgio Venturini Movie Review

War of the Trojans (1962)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Steve Reeves in War of the Trojans (1962) (aka: The Last Glory of Troy/ The Avenger)

Reeves The Avenger

Following the destruction of Troy, the survivors lead by Aeneas make their way to Italy looking to start again and live in peace. But their arrival near the river Tiber does not go down well with nearby Turno (Gianni Garko), King of the Rutuli who sets about making the Trojans look like a danger to the kingdom so that he can get rid of them. It leads to more fighting as Aeneas' hopes of peace seems to have been lost until it is decided that the only way this can be ended once and for all is if Aeneas and Turno do battle one on one.

I will be the first to admit that I find the sword and sandal movies which Italy made during the 50s and 60s to be a bit too camp and cheesy for my liking. Yet after watching "War of the Trojans" which is also known as "The Last Glory of Troy" as well as "The Avenger" one of the more serious sword and sandal movies I kind of missed all the usual camp aspects which these movies tend to be filled with. It leaves "War of the Trojans" a bit of curiosity as in a way it is superior to other similar movies yet with out the now humour of it being camp it isn't as entertaining and is what it intended to be which is a serious historical movie.

What doesn't help "War of the Trojans" is at 105 minutes it isn't long but it feels it because the storyline is so slim. The Trojans arrive in Italy, Turno of the Rutuli wants them gone as he is threatened by the arrival, some fighting and bloodshed before inevitably we get Aeneas fighting one on one for his people. There needed to be more to fill this movie out and much more interesting dialogue to make it work as the dialogue is often mind numbingly dull.

Fortunately "War of the Trojans" stars Steve Reeves who not only puts his muscular physique on show but also manages to find some character depth to make Aeneas interesting. If it wasn't for Reeves I would have struggled to keep watching especially as none of the other actors manage to establish their characters to the point that I am still not sure who some of the characters were.

What this all boils down to is that "War of the Trojans" is in truth not such a bad sword and sandal movie except because it isn't as camp as other sword and sandal movies it takes a bit of time to get use to.


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